I Captured the Moon
by renivatio
Summary: the stories of the three men in Rukia's life and their struggles to keep her by their sides...
1. When It Rains

YES. i have started my very first story!! i hope to have about 10 chapters. once again, i'm not really aiming for originality here, i just need to get some emotions off my chest. what i hope to aim through this is to show Rukia through the eyes of the three men in her life, Byakuya, Renji and Ichigo. ultimately it will be IchiRuki becomes i'm in love with that coupling and i'll try to add some fluff in if i can manage to pull it off convincingly ;)

and about reviews. reviews are LOVE. seriously, after reading the first seven reviews i had for my first one-shot when i checked last night, my face just broke into this ridiculously huge smile and i smiled all evening, heck i think i even smiled in my _sleep_. it was the most glorious feeling, having people reading my stuff and actually telling me they _liked_ it. so please don't stop with the reviews, you don't know how happy you're making me!!

well anyway, here is chapter one, read and tell me what you think of it )

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I Captured the Moon

_**When It Rains**_

Kuchiki Byakuya swept through the doors of his manor; elegant robes trailing behind him, filling the silence of his stride with a soft, swishing whisper. A hush fell over the street as he stepped onto the dusty pathway; for after all, Kuchiki Byakuya was a man whose mere presence commanded respect and reverence. Now subdued, the street-life continued.

Scanning the crowd for a familiar face, Byakuya spotted a wide-eyed shinigami standing nearby.

'Hanataro', he called. Quiet but authoritative; Kuchiki Byakuya didn't bark his orders like a vulgar felon. He had power and prestige, he didn't need to.

Hanataro made his way to the Captain, swerving slightly to miss a cart of fruit. His knees shook slightly in the presence of this great man but he did his best not to show it.

'Bring Kuchiki Rukia to me immediately, I have some important business to discuss with her.'

'I…I beg your pardon Kuchiki-taichou', stammered Hanataro, 'but I believe Miss Kuchiki is at this moment visiting the human world.'

For a swift moment Hanataro thought he saw a blazing emotion in the eyes of the captain. Was it fear? Sadness? A mixture of both perhaps? But no, it was gone too fast to be recognized; on once again was the impassive mask, unreadable as a brick wall.

'In that case please inform her as soon as she returns', replied Byakuya emotionlessly. He then turned and disappeared into the crowd of villagers, leaving Hanataro to ponder what important business the captain had with Miss Kuchiki…

_In the human world…_

A shrill bell screeched through the corridors of Karakura High, indicating the end of yet another routine school day. A plethora of pupils milled out slowly; there was no excitement in their gait, they knew that the end of one school day only meant they were closer to another one.

Standing out among these lethargic scholars due to a signature scowl and an outrageously strange hair colour was Kurosaki Ichigo: fulltime teenager, part time shinigami. The shinigami bit though, mused Ichigo, was turning out to be more like quarter-time. Since the shinigami had won the war against Aizen, the hollows seemed to be taking a bit of time-out. Ichigo liked to thing that perhaps they had began to respect and fear him, after all, it was he who destroyed Aizen in the final showdown. But he took care not to tell anyone those thoughts, especially Rukia who'd probably spend hours laughing at him for his foolishness.

'Yo Strawberry', a familiar voice sliced through his thoughts, startling him.

Well speak of the devil, there was the crazy little shinigami herself. His heart brightened at the sight of her but he did his best to hide it. Since the war, Rukia had returned to Soul Society but would often come to visit the human world. Of course he'd never admit it to anyone, but it was these visits that he lived for.

Dressed in a sleeveless yellow dress, she sat in the branches of the peach tree. Sunlight streamed through the smiling cherry blossoms and gently played upon the glossy ebony of her hair, like dancing fireworks. She wore an impish grin, slightly cocksure, eyes looking down on him with an air of teasing superiority. It annoyed the hell out of Ichigo, the way she always acted like she was better than him. But in his heart, in a place he'd never let anyone see, he knew that he could never compare himself to the beautiful person that she was.

'Hey midget', he called out as she hopped nimbly off the tree and walked towards him.

THUMP! Rukia raised a hand to whack him across the head; Ichigo attempted to dodge and failed. It was her customary greeting, Ichigo knew it was coming but he never managed to avoid it. Rukia fell into step with his stride and the two walked down the road that led to Ichigo's home.

'Had a free minute so I thought I'd drop by to make sure you haven't done anything stupid like gotten yourself killed', she said casually.

Ichigo snorted, 'I think I've been taking care of myself a lot better than you have,' He nodded towards the faint scars etched across her right arm, an act which Rukia calmly ignored. Rukia had mentioned that lately she had been receiving more dangerous tasks in Soul Society. She had told him this with a genuine smile on her face, she finally felt as if she was being appreciated, that Soul Society recognized her strengths; she was pleased to be of use. Ichigo though, couldn't help but worry.

'How's Renji doin'?' he asked, venturing into the companionable silence they had been sharing for the last three blocks.

'Well he certainly hasn't gotten any smarter. He's still the moron he always was. And he gets his ass kicked by my kidou on a regular basis.'

Ichigo laughed, but he could relate. Rukia's kidou was deadly.

Looking at her now though, deadly would be the last word anyone would use to describe her. Daintily skipping beside him, she seemed lost in her own little bubble of naivety. She had a baby doll smile plastered on her face and her eyes, two exquisite amethysts, were like the eyes of a toddler, innocently surveying the world around her.

'I like this road, it's pretty. Don'tcha think so Ichigo?'

'Whatever.'

Ichigo wanted these walks to last forever. The peace of the afternoon, the quiet comfortableness they shared, why couldn't it last forever? Ichigo knew the answer, but he hated admitting it. Because admitting it meant accepting it and Ichigo didn't want to accept it. Rukia belonged in Soul Society and he belonged in the human world. She would come and visit yes, because the friendship they shared was not one you could just throw away without a second thought. What burned Ichigo's heart and soul was that he did not have the power to make her stay.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

'Dammit', said Rukia as she looked at the screeching device wound around her wrist, 'I'm wanted in Soul Society.'

Ichigo watched as she fumbled with some buttons, attempting to stop the deafening din. Finally one orange-coloured button stopped the noise and she turned her face to words him.

'Take care, Ichigo, k?'

'Yeah, whatever Rukia. You take care too'

She nodded; then disappeared. Ichigo stared at the spot where she had been standing a few seconds ago; the faint scent of her skin still lingered in the air stubbornly refusing to leave. That was another thing that pissed Ichigo off; wherever she went, in some small way or other, she left an imprint of herself, preventing Ichigo from ever being able to forget about her.

Now, staring at where the raven-haired shinigami had been, Ichigo felt a heaviness in his heart. Whenever she left, the rain would start to fall again.

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yups, there you go. 

there's a lot more to come so don't be disappointed. please keep reading as i update and review!


	2. Promises

second chappie. hope you like it. reviews would be nice but aren't necessary, i'll keep writing even if you guys think i'm crap xD just to annoy you xD

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_**Promises **_

Byakuya watched as his adopted sister stepped tentatively into her brother's office. He watched her face as it changed, ever so slightly, adopting a more closed expression. She walked over to him and waited patiently for him to acknowledge her.

Without taking his eyes off the paperwork he had been doing, Byakuya held out a certificate to Rukia.

'I have called you here to inform you that you have been promoted to the position of first seated officer in your division'

A short gasp escaped her doll-like lips which she quickly muffled down. Byakuya pretended not to notice. For a second, his eyes flickered to meet hers then fell down again onto the piles of sheets that covered his desk.

'Niisama, I…I'm honoured…I don't know what to say…', the shock was evident in the slight trembling of her voice. But there was something else that was evident, pride, joy.

'I have asked for you paperwork to be left on your desk. See to it that it is completed. That will be all'

Rukia nodded and turned away. It was by the time she got to the door that he called her back. He could not leave unsaid the words that were burning in his throat.

'Rukia…congratulations. You deserve it'

Her face lit up and for a moment there, Byakuya saw Hisana and remembered their wedding day, the joy in her face, her beauty. At that moment, Rukia resembled her deceased sister almost identically. Then, as if afraid she might let even more emotion escape from her usually reserved self, Rukia turned on her heels and walked away.

Byakuya watched the petite shinigami until she had disappeared from his view.

Was he doing the right thing? The position of 1st seated officer held great promises but also…great dangers. Byakuya had sworn to Hisana that he would always protect Rukia; by allowing her this would he be breaking that last, sacred promise he had made to his dying wife?

But it was so hard to ignore the joy in her eyes when he had spoken of it to her. She had not meant to let that scrap of emotion escape, he could tell by the way she immediately calmed herself, as if someone had turned off a switch inside. But Byakuya knew that behind the frosty, collected demeanor was a young girl, bubbling with happiness.

And he knew, yes he knew that it was entirely his fault that she had been denied this right for so long. Kuchiki Byakuya was not a man to shirk from his mistakes. His only defense was that he truly believed in his heart that he was protecting her. Now Byakuya knew that this so-called protection was much like a knife, one side of the blade was clean against the skin, drawing no blood, while the other cut deep, deep into the flesh, creating scars that can take years to heal.

He had never meant to hurt her. In fact, he had always been of firm belief that he had always done everything he could for her. He had given her food, clothing, training, a roof above her head. It was more than she had ever had on the filthy streets of Rukongai. What more could she have wanted?

But Byakuya knew what more she had wanted. It was even possible that he had always known.

Family. To Rukia, this one word meant a kaleidoscope of colours, a garden of blooming flowers. It meant the world and more. It meant…a dream that would never come true.

Byakuya had watched as her initial joy turned into weary indifference, watched as she learned to speak the word 'Niisama', a word she had once cherished, now with a dignified detachment devoid of feeling. He watched…and could do nothing.

It was not that he would not show affection towards her but more the fact that he could not. When Hisana died she had taken with her everything that was good and beautiful in his life. Just as she had broughtthe sunlight and happiness into his world, she had sucked him dry of it all with her departure. She had been his purpose, his reason for living. Without her, he was nothing. A blind man, he moved desperately and recklessly, tying to feel his way through this new world devoid of warmth. He had waved his hands drunkenly into the darkness and clutched onto the first thing that came into his frantic reach – society, rules. He used these to try and make himself into half the man he had been, attempted to give meaning to the pathetic existence he called life. But it was no use, he was too far gone. He was no longer a man, but a robot.

Then he found Rukia. With a wide-eyed honesty she seemed to look past his hostile mask and intohis soul. Those violet orbs…so like Hisana's…she crept into his heart when he wasn't looking…

Finally, after denying it for as long as he could, Byakuya admitted it to himself; he had a new purpose and that purpose was to protect Kuchiki Rukia.

It was this new purpose that gave way to yet another fear in his heart. Being 1st seated officer meant that Rukia would have a lot more freedom. Byakuya had not failed to notice that Rukia had been spending most of her free time in the human. He knew the allure the human world held for it; it was embodied in the form of the Vaizard boy, Kurosaki Ichigo. The closer she drew to the boy, the further away she moved from _him_. of course he knew Kurosaki would cherish her, protect her, perhaps even better than he himself could but… that didn't interest him. What troubled Byakuya was that protecting Rukia was his job and his job alone. He refused to have her snatched away from him, just as he had started to begin to learn about the amazing person she was.

Deny it though he would, Kuchiki Byakuya knew it was only a matter of time. She was slipping, like quicksand through the gaps of his fingers. Kuchiki Byakuya had been given forty years to win Rukia but his pride and despair over Hisana's death had not allowed him to. Now, he would have to reap the consequences of those crucial actions he had _not_ committed.

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	3. Her Smile

okay, i lied. i need reviews! please review people !! ;)

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****Her Smile **_

Vibrant, crimson hair glinted in the midday sun, beams of light enshrining the head of the heavy-built shinigami. Renji, fully equipped with sealed reiatsu and cleverly disguised in the common clothing of the human world, hid behind a tree and watched what, to him, seemed like a movie.

It was a normal Saturday morning in the park. The quiet chatter of couples out for a walk and families out on a picnic, buzzed in and out of the trees. Everywhere you looked there would be a garden of dazzling flowers, dainty faces upturned to the gentle caressing rays of sunlight. The crystal clear waters of the central lake reflected a plethora of shades as a volley of brilliantly coloured fish slinked in and out of the swaying reeds.

Overlooking the lake, isolated on the grassy stretch of bank, was a bench. And on that bench sat too people, both whom Renji easily recognized.

One was a rather tall, well-built young man. He wore skinny jeans and a tight t-shirt that emphasised the muscularity of his chest. A shock of spiky orange hair glared defiantly at passers-by who looked on him with disapproval and a pair of amber eyes that matched perfectly with the hair, declared arrogantly that he really didn't give a damn. His companion was a svelte, ebony-haired young woman with soft lavender eyes. She was perched happily on the bench, legs crossed, her petite figure taking up little space on the wooden surface. Clutched tightly in both her dainty hands was an ice cream. Strawberry flavour, Renji noted.

The boy too had an ice-cream and he ate it with slow, drawling licks. After one bite, he would wait before his next, trying to savour the taste for as long as he could. His partner beside him was a complete contrast. Her cute pink tongue darted in and out in an endearing manner, eager to devour the sweetness. In her childlike hurry, she didn't notice as a drop of ice cream trickled down onto her chin. Renji saw the boy's expression soften and watched as he gently cupped the girl's chin in his hand. He continued watching as the boy brought his face towards the girl's and tenderly licked the blob of cream that was smeared across her face. The first signs of a pink tinge were starting to show on her cheeks and Renji tore his eyes away from the picture before him. It was too painful to keep on watching.

Renji had always thought of her as his. His to protect, his to worship, his to love. From the very day she had barged headfirst into his life, he had thought of her as his.

Life in Inzuri had not been easy. The place was filth itself and had an extremely high crime rate. But no amount of danger was enough to faze Renji, Rukia and co., the fearless gang of hooligans that roamed the streets at all hours of day and night. Sure, there were nights they couldn't sleep due to the cold and days they'd go hungry because they weren't able to scavenge enough food but they always made it through, always together and that was all that mattered. Renji had learned early on that sometimes the family you made for yourself was more reliable than anything else.

Everyone adored Rukia. And with good reason too. She could think up the most awesome pranks to play on people, she could kick everyone's ass in a fight (including Renji's) and still, through it all, she retained a calm, gentle aura that put everyone around her at ease. They were all captivated by her.

Everyone, except Renji. On the outside at least. On the inside he burned for her with an emotion he knew none of his companions ever felt. It was something far more than adoration, more even than love. Renji knew, what he felt for Rukia, bordered on madness.

But he held back. Of course he could have declared his undying love for her during her first week with his gang. But he realised, with Rukia, things needed to happen in her own time, or else she would simply ignore them and go plodding on. So he waited, for her to realise him.

Time took its usual course and still Renji waited. In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed and the people who Renji had come to think of as family had long since been smothered in the folds of time. He was alone, with Rukia. One day, she made the decision to become a shinigami. Renji, ever the dutiful dog, followed.

Renji had prided himself on being the last one left with her. While all the others who had claimed to adore her had slowly left, he had remained by her side. Ever vigilant. He believed he had earned the right to her. He swore he would never waver from her side.

But then they entered shinigami academy and things started to change. Due to their high spiritual power, they had easily gained entrance but Renji soon discovered that in nearly all aspects of shinigami training, he was far more talented than Rukia. He found himself slowly climbing up a ladder that led to success, leaving Rukia to look up at him from the bottom. Each rung widened the gap between them.

Then had come the adoption. Unexpected, it cut through the relative peace of their surroundings. Renji had done his best to appear happy for her. And it hurt, god it hurt. Because what the adoption meant was that he, Renji, would have to sacrifice all claims to her. She belonged to the Kuchiki family now, the distance between them was too great.

She had looked into his eyes and quietly thanked him. Then she walked away, leaving Renji to shiver in the cold that was the absence of her warmth. _That_ had been the moment. The moment to cast aside the veil and divulge all. To melt into the deep abyss of her violet eyes and speak the words that he had wanted to speak with a desire that racked his entire body. But…he held back.

Why?

Fear.

Yes, Abari Renji was a coward. Maybe not in front of other captains. And when fighting hollows he was fearless. But this woman…whose head barely reached his shoulders, had the power to make him cower, make him shake. Her disdain, her contempt, even the hardening of her lips in a line of disapproval was enough to shatter him. Destroy him. What did Rukia mean to Renji? To say that she meant the world would be a gross understatement.

From a bystander's position he watched her life. He watched her trying clumsily to fit in with noble society. He watched her fight fruitlessly to win the affections of her cold Niisama. He watched her heart being torn in two after what had happened to the master she had come to love, Shiba Kaien. Renji had wanted to wrap his arms around her and hug away the hurt, kiss her face dry of the tears he knew she shed in her private hours. He tried to reach out to her but…she was too far away.

Then had come the business of the execution. He would still have nightmares of it; her face cut into strips by the metal bars of her cell, wearing a white kimono with that collar tight around her slender neck. Her doe-like eyes had started at him with neither disdain, nor contempt though Renji knew he deserved both. She was like a swan about to be sacrificed by a group of savages. How could they sentence such a beautiful creature to death? And how could he have been so foolish?

For a fool was exactly what he had been/ he had allowed his pride to get the better of him and where had that led him? To a pair of amber eyes. To a shock of flaming orange hair. To a boy, who, even in his infancy, was more of a man that Renji could ever hope to become.

And to this man, Renji had been forced to say the words he had never thought he'd have to say to anyone…

'_Please, save Rukia!'_

Had he truly lost her to this man? This human? Was this the man who would take the place he had wanted so much? Watching her now, he had seen her give him a smile and he burned at the sight of it. The smile she had given this boy, this _Ichigo_, was not a smile she had ever given him. This smile had come from a place deep in her heart, a place Renji didn't have access to.

But he couldn't. He just couldn't believe that this was the end. He _refused_ to believe that he had loved her so much and for so long, to be outrun in the last segment of the race by this human.

Perhaps it was just his natural stubbornness. Whatever it was, Renji knew he couldn't just give up. If he was to lose her, he refused to lose her without a fight. Renji thought this, with a desperation that belongs only to a man who enters a fight, knowing he has already lost.

Renji slowly turned away from the park and walked through an open gateway to Soul Society.

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;) c'mon click that review button. you know you want to xD 


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